'I'm going there.' Oil drilling fuels a migrant surge in isolated city
in Brazil's Amazon
[April 09, 2026] By
GABRIELA SÁ PESSOA
OIAPOQUE, Brazil (AP) — On a recent morning, Reginaldo Nunes Fonseca
smoked cigarettes from the porch of his friend's wooden shack, watching
the rain come down hard in an area now known as Nova Conquista — New
Conquest — where pristine rainforest in Brazil's Amazon stood a year
ago.
The rain meant he couldn't work on building his own house or do odd jobs
for others in the area, but the weather wasn't the only thing holding
him back. Like thousands of others who have moved to the small city of
Oiapoque, in Brazil’s northern state of Amapa, Fonseca is waiting for an
economic boom that may or may not come.
The area is experiencing a rush of migrants since Petrobras, Brazil’s
state-run oil company, last year secured environmental licensing for
offshore drilling in the Equatorial Margin near the mouth of the Amazon
River, about 180 kilometers (112 miles) off Amapa’s coast.
“I thought, well, that’s good — the city is going to grow, there will be
a lot of job opportunities," said Fonseca, who saw a television report
about the licensing in January and decided to move from the northeastern
state of Maranhao. "So I started calling friends and said: ‘I’m going
there because here I’m unemployed and not doing anything.'”
Amapa is one of Brazil’s poorest and underdeveloped states. Oiapoque’s
economy relies on fishing, illegal gold mining and visitors from
neighboring French Guiana, who cross daily and spend euros, which hold
their value better than the Brazilian real. While the prospect of
economic opportunities is bringing hope, the impacts of unplanned urban
growth in a city with already poor infrastructure are being felt.
The oil-fueled optimism highlights a broader dilemma for developing
countries: how to curb their emissions of greenhouse gases like carbon
dioxide, which are released from the burning of oil and cause climate
change, while relying on such revenue to transform local economies.
It also raises questions about President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's
campaign commitment to protecting the environment. He has made stopping
deforestation an important part of his government and last year Brazil
hosted the U.N. climate summit known as COP30.
“We don’t want to pollute a single millimeter of water, but no one can
stop us from lifting Amapa out of poverty if there is oil here,” Lula
said last year during a visit to Amapa.
There is a surge of speculation ahead of drilling
On March 10, about 2 miles (3.2 kilometers) from Fonseca's home,
Petrobras met with politicians, business owners and community leaders to
present its operation plans.
Company representatives said drilling for an exploratory well began in
October and would last about five months. If large quantities of oil are
found and the company wants to begin extracting it, that would require
further government permits, a process that can take months or even
years.
Environmental and Indigenous groups have sued the Brazilian government
and Petrobras to halt exploration, arguing the licensing process failed
to properly consult traditional communities, underestimated spill risks
and did not adequately assess climate impacts. Federal prosecutors also
asked IBAMA to annul or suspend the environmental license, arguing that
Petrobras’ studies are insufficient and that the company is concealing
the full extent of the environmental impact. No ruling has been issued.
During the meeting, officials also said Oiapoque was serving mostly as a
helicopter base for offshore crews, as it's the closest land point.
Administrative operations related to the drilling were based out of
Belem, a major city in the neighboring state of Para.
Despite open questions about future extraction and Oiapoque's limited
role in Petrobras' operations, speculation has already reshaped the
city.
The city’s population was 27,482 in 2022, according to census data, but
a new count has yet to be taken, so it’s unclear how many people there
are.
“In the past 18 months, Oiapoque has seen significant population
growth," said Tiago Vieira Araújo, an Oiapoque councilman who stood up
and voiced concerns during the meeting. "There are already seven new
neighborhoods, and social problems have come with them.”
Urban infrastructure in Oiapoque is already precarious. Less than 2% of
households have adequate sewage systems, and only 0.2% are on properly
structured streets, according to Brazilian Institute of Geography and
Statistics.
In the new settlements — known locally as “invasions” — conditions are
worse. Residents have cleared public rainforest, creating informal plots
and erecting makeshift homes. Freshly cut tree stumps, wooden stakes and
rough shacks rise from mud and have only the basics: a kitchen, a bed
and a rudimentary bathroom.
“We know it’s not right to clear the forest. Everyone knows it’s wrong,”
Fonseca said. “But space is limited.”
Some locals see Dubai as a model for the area's development
Yuri Alesi, 34, a lawyer who advocates for land rights in new
settlements and a former city councilman, is running for vice mayor in a
special election set for April. He envisions Oiapoque as an “Amazonian
Dubai,” fueled by oil revenues.
“Dubai is in the middle of a desert, an unlikely place to grow,” he
said. “The industry that drove its development was oil.”
[to top of second column] |
A family walks carrying tools toward an area known as Nova Conquista
or New Conquest where families are building houses near the center
of Oiapoque, Amapa state, Brazil, Tuesday, March 10, 2026. (AP
Photo/Eraldo Peres)
 Brazil’s offshore Equatorial Margin,
from the Suriname border to the country's northeast, is believed to
hold significant oil and gas reserves. Preliminary estimates suggest
they could hold up to 10 billion barrels, with a potential value of
about 3.8 trillion reais ($719.7 billion). Alesi said royalties
could generate roughly 100 million reais ($19 million) a month for
Oiapoque, about the equivalent of the city's total goods and
services produced each year, according to Brazil's statistics
institute.
The Amazon, which is crucial to regulating the global climate
because forests store carbon dioxide, is constantly under pressure
from deforestation driven by agriculture, cattle ranching and
mining. That pressure has been less intense in Amapa, where about
82% of the land remains forested, according to MapBiomas, a
nonprofit that tracks land use.
The state’s isolation, bordered by rivers and the sea and lacking
road connections to the rest of Brazil, has helped protect it from
the deforestation seen in the southern Amazon.
Previous booms have not ended in prosperity
While some point to Dubai as a model for Oiapoque’s future, nearby
cities that once benefited from oil offer a warning for Oiapoque.
Petrobras has explored oil and gas in the state of Coari, also part
of the Amazon, since the 1980s. Yet the city ranks among Brazil’s
poorest, with about 72% of its residents living in extreme poverty,
according to a recent study by Agenda Publica, a nonprofit focused
on public policy.
Other cities in Amapa have also seen boom and decline cycles tied to
mining. Pedra Branca, about 280 miles from Oiapoque, grew between
2007 and 2014 during an iron ore boom.
Prosperity in Pedra Branca drew Selma Soares, 46, who moved from
Maranhao to Amapa in 2008 and opened a grocery store.
In 2013, a collapse at a port operated by mining company Anglo
American killed six workers and disrupted iron ore production.
India’s Zamin Ferrous later took over the mine and suspended
operations.
“People who had shopped with us for years struggled to eat,” Soares
said.
In the past few years, she heard growing rumors that Oiapoque was
booming. After visiting the city last year, she moved with her
husband and son. The family now runs a small supermarket on the
outskirts of town. Soares said many others have followed.
“People are waiting for drilling to begin,” she said. “They believe
everything will improve.”
Amid enthusiasm there is also concern
At the river separating Oiapoque from French Guiana, a small port
hums with boats linking Brazil, its neighbor and nearby communities.
Green-and-yellow stickers read: “Oil yes! Development yes!,” a
message promoted by local politicians.
Just 20 minutes away by boat, members of the Indigenous Galibi
Kali’na community are wary. Some see economic opportunity, but
leaders oppose exploration, warning of environmental risks and
threats to their way of life.
“Petrobras arrived with strong political backing, promising progress
as if we would go to sleep one way and wake up like Dubai,” said
Renata Lod, a representative on Oiapoque’s Indigenous council. “But
what we have actually seen is completely disorganized population
growth, invasions of Indigenous lands."
Lod listed several frequent complaints among Oiapoque residents,
both Indigenous and non-Indigenous, including overcrowded schools
and the city’s only hospital operating at full capacity.
There is also fear of potential oil spills.
“Most Indigenous lands are flooded wetlands. How do you clean a
wetland? Once oil enters the rivers, there’s no way to remove it,"
Lod said.
An oil spill could quickly carry pollutants to nearby coasts and
rivers, threatening ecosystems and communities that depend on
fishing and mangroves. Petrobras said it conducted spill modeling to
secure the environmental license and has been deploying drifting
devices to monitor ocean currents since it began exploration in
October.
In January, Petrobras reported a drilling-fluid leak that briefly
halted operations. IBAMA, the environmental regulator, fined the
company 2.5 million reais ($470,500).
At the community meeting, Petrobras officials sought to ease
concerns, defending the safety of its operations. They also pointed
to everyday items, from clothing to air conditioning, to underscore
oil’s economic importance.
“People here see Petrobras as an economic remedy,” said Araújo, the
city councilman. “But even a remedy has side effects. And we’re
already experiencing the side effects before seeing any of the
benefits.”
___
Photographer Eraldo Peres and video journalist Felipe Campos Mello
contributed to this report.
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